Fate FalseTwilight
by Fulcano
Summary: Another False grail war has begun, team lines have been drawn, and the two sides will clash in an ever-escalating battle. Which side will come out on top, and which party will fall.
1. Night Zero

**Author's Note**

**Before beginning the story I'd like to give credit to the co-authors of this piece. **

**Roanes Steel**

**Darkwolfangel325 aka Dark**

**SmallZboot aka Boot**

**Shadowlighto982 aka Shadow**

**One extra character was created by **

**Drake Wilson**

**Note, this story is based on a D&D campaign done with the following people above. **

* * *

Prologue

Night 0

It was the beginning of the end; a hellish war would begin in this small town, one that would change the world as we knew it.

The Ritual was complete, and the teams were all created, our group of masters and servants have were contacted to meet at a downtown cafe, this is the Holy Grail War, and the seven here are now teammates and allies for the foreseeable future. It is now time for them to begin their introductions.

The first to speak in the group was a young man with black hair and green eyes. He sat up from his seat at the table as he spoke up. "Well, it looks like we're all here. But before we get to names, how about we all show our _proof_." The tension in the group seemed to raise as he spoke, before dispelling slightly when another young man spoke up as well.

In comparison to the first, he was much slimmer, almost lanky with shoulder-length red hair that was pulled into a ponytail and he wore a hoodie that had cat ears. He seemed practically relaxed as he spoke, but if one looked closer, he was rather tense. "Well, that is a good idea. I'll start. Archer, would you mind?"

At his question, the air seemed to shimmer as a female humanoid form appeared. It was a woman wearing a black and blue dress, with long blue stockings and metal gloves with sharp nails. She had a light tan to her skin, piercing green eyes that took you in, and you could already feel as if she had a plan to kill you. The most stand out thing about her, however, was her two-toned hair, green and blonde, with unmistakably cat-like ears on the top of her head that twitched at every sound, and a cat tail that lazily swayed in the air behind her as she stood slightly before her Master.

"Servant. Archer. _Pleasure_"

It didn't take a genius to notice that she did not mean it.

The green-eyed man spoke up at his reveal, almost chastising him. "You show your hand so casually. I thought we would all show these at least." He then pulled off the glove on his right hand and held up to reveal the symbol burned into it. It was a stylized cross with wings coming off the tip of the cross.

As he showed off his Command Seals, another man with black hair and green eyes, but in comparison, he was shorter and more burly than the first, spoke up with a joking tone "A catgirl, I certainly wasn't expecting to see one." the rest of the group seemed to smile in agreement or raise an eyebrow in surprise.

The Master of Archer then spoke up once more "Haha, sorry, sorry. Just figured that she would be a little harder to fake than a fancy tattoo" The man seemed to be slightly embarrassed, but a bit more jovial than before.

The first man spoke up once more, "Hmm, true. A servant would be much harder to fake, my apologies."

The Master of Archer shook his head, indicating no apology was needed before speaking once more "No worries, It's not like anyone here has done this before... right?"

Both he and his servant look around the room, one more nervous than the other.

The first one to respond was the muscular man from before his tone was jovial as he spoke, "Good point there, and nope haven't been alive that long."

He chuckled to himself slightly while pulling off his glove to reveal his Command Seals which were a stylized Nordic sword with two birds by the edges of the blades. As he did this, he spoke up, "Alright, Lancer show yourself."

A figure in a hood slowly shimmered behind him her body was wrapped in a form-fitting robe that covered most of her body before splitting into three at the legs, around her hips were golden armor that wrapped around her hips like wings. She had blood-red eyes and black hair, and her hood would occasionally twitch as if it were alive. She then gave a small bow to the group and spoke up in a formal tone. "Hello all, I am Servant, Lancer"

Behind the Master of Archer, his servant seemed to stiffen slightly before she relaxed as she looked at Lancer closely.

The next to speak up was what many would consider average; he looked no different than the average Japanese man that walked the streets in the day to the point that you would likely be unable to pick him out from a crowd. The man raised his arm showing the Command Seal on his hand that seemed to be a stylized sickle before he spoke up "Present yourself, Caster."

A shimmer of lights appeared next to him showing a pink-haired shrine maiden with fox ears and a tail. Caster spoke with a jovial yet old tone; she took a strange pose before speaking "Caster has appeared.~"

The rest of the group seemed shocked at seeing not only one but two Heroic Spirits with animal traits. The first to recover being the Master of Lancer as he broke out into a big laugh "First a catgirl and now a fox girl" The man said in between his chuckles. As he tried to recover, the Master of Archer spoke up next.

"AH! A Kitsune! This really is Japan!" He points his finger frantically at Caster, and Archer sighs at the childishness of her Master.

The Master of Lancer seemed to chuckle to himself before laughing loudly at the man's proclamation, Lancer tugged her hood further over her head, as well as, pulled at his sleeve to try and stop him from laughing.

Once the laughter began to die down, a small teenaged girl spoke up, she had white hair and pale skin with an ahoge sticking up above her head and her left eye partially covered by a bang.

"Guess it's my turn then" The girl took off her right glove showing off her Command Seal, it was in the shape of a star. The first man who spoke and the Master of Archer looked to each other, then to their command seals. The man spoke first, "We do have a creative bunch, don't we?"

The Master of Archer nodded, giving a "Yup" in response.

Behind him, Archer rolled her eyes.

The girl slightly confused by their responses to her introduction shrugged, and said "Sure, I guess" she then continued with by replying to the void next to her "Hey little sis I'm sure it's alright to come out."

A young girl with silver hair in a modern-day Cat-themed hooded cloak materialized next to the teen and said in a cheerful voice "Assassin."

Almost immediately Archer froze at the sight of Assassin, her ears and tail stood up straight as if she received a blow to her head. In a low voice that almost no one noticed, she let out a constrained, "It can't be…" as she continued to stare at Assassin.

The Master of Lancer turned to Archer slightly taking note of her reaction to Assassin.

The first man spoke up once more recovering from his surprise "Heroic Spirits sure come in all shapes and sizes." a bit of the disbelief still lingered in his tone.

The Master of Lancer turned from Archer back to the teen and her servant "They certainly do, wonder what this lass did to end up a heroic spirit…" his tone turned to one of confusion as he tried to imagine it.

The Master of Archer spoke up next, breaking the other masters from their thoughts. "Y-yeah... Not sure how I feel about a little girl being an Assassin though…" Archer behind him was still in shock to offer any response.

Caster and her Master looked at one another before Caster gave a cheerful proclamation to her Master, grabbing onto his arm "Aw! Husband, she is adorable!" The man blushed almost immediately.

Both the Master of Archer and Lancer broke out into another laugh, while the remainder of the group seemed to be able to hold it in, Archer's Master spoke first.

"Snrk, Someone moves fast," he said in between laughs.

Caster's Master turned to him with an embarrassed glare while saying, "shut up."

Lancer's Master who sat next to him, slapped his back, and he was knocked forward slightly from the slap. He went on to say, "Just means you've got a good relationship there" The man gave a slightly embarrassed nod to Lancer's Master in response.

Archer's Master recovering from his laugh spoke up once again, "Haha, well, that's three of seven... anyone else?"

In response, a large man who had remained silent even as other members of the group bonded finally moved his face looking... more than a little annoyed, and showing he is looking like the oldest in the room, stood up from his table.

"Rider, your turn."

The man's order was met with an excited shout.

"Hello~ The adorable Rider is here!~"

Rider did a small spin as she[?] manifests.

The older man grumbled as Rider's hair slaps him across the face.

There were a few confused blinks as the group looked at Rider. Assassin's Master being the first to realize the truth.

"Trap," She says looking blandly at the feminine man.

The first man to speak agrees with her assessment stating that the Rider was also a "Trap" looking blankly at the servant.

With a quirk of the eye, Archer's Master looked at them both, "What? Are you sure?"

"Yep dat boy a trap" a strange accent was slipping out of her mouth likely signifying that she was getting used to the group.

"Huh, and now there are traps?" The man spoke quietly, Lancer next to him, tilts her head in confusion before silently asking her Master what a trap was. He whispered in her ear as the rest carried on.

Archer almost seems to vibrate with rage as she beholds Rider "What the actual hell is this!?"

"Something you like to share Archer?" The still nameless man spoke up turning towards Archer, Assassin and her Master doing the same.

Rider, on the other hand, seemed happy to see her.

"Neko-chan! It's good to see you again~"

The pink-haired girl[?] is nearly shot by an arrow at her[?] statement.

Assassin's Master seems to nod once more as if the action confirmed her thought's while saying "Yep, Trap."

"I have never seen that man before in my life."

The fact that her bow was drawn proves otherwise.

The nameless man takes a sip of his coffee before saying "I see" while Caster's Master seems to brush off her statement realizing she wouldn't start a fight.

Meanwhile, Caster stood next to her Master seemingly content with the situation; it would not have been surprising if she had a cup of tea or a bag of popcorn as she looked upon the proceeding as if it were a show. "This is very amusing dear husband," She said to her Master.

Archer's Master, on the other hand, seemed tense unsure of how to deal with his servant who seemed ready to start a fight. "Uh... this is... interesting…" appeared to be all he could say in response.

The nameless Master spoke up in his stead "We're all allies here. Best to save any violence for our opposition." At that Archer seemed to realize what she was doing and relaxed her bow.

Caster's Master taking an interest in the situation once more spoke up. "Now for Saber and Berserker."

The nameless Master near him seemed to chuckle "Right...Saber" he said low to himself, no one seemed to hear him likely because as he said that another figure appeared.

"AHAHA! FOOLS! YOU SHOULD BE MORE AFRAID OF ME, BERSERKER, THAN SOME OVERGROWN CAT!" The shout came from a tiny girl with long, blonde hair and two large horns coming out of her forehead that was standing on a table, which had another girl sitting at it as well, drinking her chosen drink as she looked out on the room.

"Another child," The nameless Master commented.

"Yup," said Lancer's master

"...Oni" Said Assassin's Master. Berserker's appearance seemingly entranced her. "So cool~"

Berserker, on the other hand, turned to the two men who had called her a child barking at them with anger "WHAT WAS THAT, HUMAN? ARE YOU WILLING TO INSULT THE LEADER OF JAPAN'S ONI!?" while rage was there, it was apparent to the two men that it was controlled, She jumped off her perch and walked over to the man who had yet release his servant.

The nameless Master seemed to pull back a bit as she approached, "Perish the thought. Going up against one of the Great Oni, so soon was not what I had in mind. I just expected you to be taller." Berserker gave a toothy smile to the man.

Behind him, Lancer had begun to make a grip as the air seemed to shimmer around her hand. This was stopped as her Master grabbed her arm, preventing her from escalating things.

As Lancer's Master was preventing Lancer from attacking the oni, Assassin's Master seemed to have snapped from her stupor. Letting out another comment that would land her in hot water

"...Chibi" at the word Berserker snapped her head at the teen and gave her a knowing smile.

"I'll have you know; oni eat humans. Remember that." Berserker having said her piece returned to her Master's side, said Master passed her a piece of chocolate which she ate happily.

Lancer's Master looked at the once angry Berserker with a grin as she no longer seemed threatening "Definitely a child" he said to himself as she grabbed another piece of candy from her Master's hand.

Caster's Master seemed somewhat confused with the change as he watched her only able to say "huh, she has a sweet tooth..."

"Well, the gang's all here." The nameless Master said gathering the most of the group's attention, except for Archer's Master who was seemingly vibrating in place as he watched Berserker go into bliss eating chocolate. His comment of "Japan is so much fun." genuinely showing that he wasn't paying attention. A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, as he realized where he was, his head turning back to the nameless Master.

"Now there was one," his countenance changing quickly from happy to serious; Archer placed her focus on the man as well.

Near Him, Lancer's Master agreed as he looked around the nameless Master's shoulder and back, almost expecting a servant to appear there. "It's just saber left now, huh."

Said, nameless Master nodded, "Right, it would be my turn?" the man said as he put his glove back on his hand covering the command seal once more.

Rider's Master nodded to him, "Seems so."

"Unfortunately, Saber won't be joining exactly." The moment he said that everyone present, from masters to servants grew tense though for different reasons. The man himself did not seem all that phased by their reactions.

Lancer's Master was the first to speak up "What did you two fight." the words, while they had sounded like a joke would not seem as such if you were to notice his clenched fist.

Archer's Master gave an almost silent "What" as his hand shot into his jacket, the once jovial eyes turned cold as ice as they bored into the now suspicious Master.

Assassin's Master remained oblivious of the tension, merely pouting after she heard what the man had said. "Aww, I wanted to see the swordsman," she said as Assassin joined her in pouting.

"You pulled one of the extra classes?" The question from Caster's Master confused both Archer and Lancer's Master out of their tense state while Assassin's Master lost her pout and focused on the man.

"...Extra class?" she asked as she tried to process what she heard.

With a snap of the man's fingers, a new figure materialized next to him. A young woman in an extravagant white and gold nun's habit and veil that covered her long black hair. The woman then gave a bow as she addressed the room.

"Servant, Ruler."

"Extra classes? What? Explain?" Archer's Master asked.

The man's eyes shoot around the room, clearly lost. Behind him, Archer's fist had begun to clench.

"Ruler huh, certainly sounds fancy" Lancer's Master said just as confused by the term as Archer's Master.

"Extra classes are special servants outside the normal 7, Rulers, Avengers, and so on," Caster's Master told the two.

Behind Archer now had taken out her bow using the words of Caster's Master as confirmation and had turned her ire towards the now revealed Ruler.

"No. Not her. She dies." Archer said as she drew her bow back, likely trying to ensure that she would only need a single shot.

"Call her an extra character. One you don't see as often. I just happened to get lucky." Ruler's Master said as he placed his cup shook slightly before settling down, likely due to Archer's current threat.

"Now, now catgirl, we're all on the same side here," Lancer's Master said diplomatically, likely attempting to soothe the tension.

Despite this, Archer still holds an arrow aimed squarely at Ruler.

Erissa and Assassin look around and then at each other, not knowing what to think, she gave a quiet "I see," as she turned to Archer and Ruler.

"Have you confused me with someone else?" Ruler asked as she turned to Archer, her body relaxed as if there wasn't an arrow pointed at her. As Archer saw her face, her body slowly lost tension as she realized this was not the same Ruler that she knew. Behind her, her Master slowly let out a sigh of relief when he saw that she wouldn't start a fight.

"Seems so. My apologies Ruler." The bow in her hands dematerialized along with the arrow.

"So we all cool then?" the teen asked the two spirits. In response, Archer gave a bow to Ruler, who returned it with one of her own.

"Cool," the teen said with a nod to the two servants.

"May the Lord's light bless us all against the coming war" Ruler's prayer dispelling the remaining tension in the air. As she did so, Archer's Master realized he still had his hand in his coat pocket and took it out with a blush on his face.

"Uh... yes... indeed."

He looks Ruler over. His glasses seemingly shine as he smiles.

"A nun too! Japan is the best!"

"I know right," the teen in nodded hearing his proclamation.

"No better place in the world" Lancer's Master nodded with her.

"Seems like we are rather off balance now. Rulers know other Servants true names, after all." Berserker's Master spoke up from her corner; she seemed to have satisfied her servant's craving for sweets.

Most of the group paused for a beat to take in that information.

"Saint would be more accurate. The Ruler class has its benefits, it's not the spirit of the sword, but it is an excellent class nonetheless." Ruler's Master said, likely to take the group's thoughts away from that information. He paused for a beat.

Berserker seemed to sense her Master's annoyance at being ignored turned from the rest of her sweets to Ruler, though for now, she seemed content to stare at the Saint.

"Now, for proper introductions. I am Aster Luxord." spoke the now identified Master of Ruler.

"The name is Shu, Shu Thrud," said Lancer's master

"Uh... Richard Glass. And, I guess I'm our team's Admin if this is to be believed…"

The Master of Archer lays a silver medal on the table before him, its face featuring the Crest of the Clock Tower, and said building seemed to emit light from within despite being little more than a piece of metal.

The older Master introduced himself next "Francios Duhasse. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He was followed up by Berserker's Master, "And I go by Elizabeth. It is an honor." her tone was sounded flat and uninterested in the conversation as if she was forcing it to be that way.

Caster's Master went next; he stood up and bowed as he introduced himself "Names Haseo Kogami. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Assassin's Master went next, waving a hand to the group "Sup, names Erissa R. Mitsuyoshi but call me Eris and dis is me Lil' sis."

She pats Assassin's head, which makes her smile.

With all seven masters and servants introduced, the Clock Tower's Faction was now fully formed

"So, what now?" Eris said, scratching the back of her head nervously.

Haseo turned to Eris, then back to the group. "Do we have any intel on the enemy faction?"

"None here," Shu said from his seat.

"Well... uh... Not really. Maybe we should... make plans? I mean, I was able to confirm the enemy has a Saber, but that is about it..."

Richard grabbed his medal from the table as he said this.

"I suppose we'll need a layout of the city, and the best places to fight and ambush the enemy team," Shu said as he watched Richard put away the medal.

"Then I guess we will need to split up into groups and search the city for any clues," Haseo said chipping in.

"We also might need supplies," Francois said as he lit a cigarette as he said this.

"Then I suggest we should split up to accomplish both tasks. A priority would have to be a more secure place to meet." Aster said as he messed around with his now empty cup.

"And set up multiple safe houses," Haseo spoke up again.

"Along with place we can meet that won't be suspicious."

Elizabeth added as she tossed another candy to her servant.

"especially with certain... foreign elements in our group."

She cast a suspicious look at the very not Japanese Richard with this.

Eris stayed quiet, unsure how to help.

"Not that, that sort of thing matters here."

Shu gave a pointed look to her trying to get her to back down.

"She... does have a point. If we meet in a group of seven with someone like me in the group, it will draw unneeded attention…" Richard said as he fingered the medal he had put in his pocket.

"Save your aggression for the enemy," Haseo Interjected. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Split up?" Richard said as he shrugged.

"Separate into smaller groups to accomplish our tasks. And pick a place for us to meet later." Aster proposes.

"I can go with Mr. leader, me being half jap would make him stand out less as people would assume he's a relative," Shu added.

Haseo and Eris chuckle at that.

"That... sounds good to me. That is one team then?" Richard looks around to confirm this with the others.

"I'm ok with this," Haseo answered as the rest of the group nodded with him.

"I should go with the Assassin's master; our ages are different enough to make us look like parent and child." Francois takes a drag as he says this, his tone masked by the smoke. Archer turned sharply to the man.

"You better protect her, or the enemy is the least of your problems…" Archer's tone was sharp and slightly threatening. Her bow was back in her hand as she fingered the bowstring.

"Um ...yeah sure I'm cool with dat"

Eris says while looking between Archer and Francois.

"That leaves me with the rest. So before we separate we'll need a way to keep in communication. As well as to scout the outside before our departure."

Aster says as he looks over to Eris.

"The easiest way is to have Ruler and Assassin scope out our surroundings."

"Archer should go find good vantage points in the city," Haseo says to Richard and Archer.

"I have a method for that... If nobody minds a little blatant mage craft of course?" Richard says as he reaches in his coat.

"Best save the magecraft for later" Haseo interjects stopping Richard from taking out whatever item he was looking for.

"It might bring attention if the enemy caster is looking for us," Shu adds to Haseo's point.

"... fair point. Might need it for tomorrow night... Anyone else has a cell?" Richard had the decency to look sheepish.

"I have a cell and a couple of walkies," Haseo says.

"Got a cell here too," Shu adds.

"Me, Aster, and Francois can share contact info. The fewer links there are, the less likely we would be all caught at once." Richard points out to the group.

"I NEVER AGREED TO THIS!" Elizabeth stands up with her shout.

"Woah!" Eris jumps in shock at Elizabeth's shout.

"You're free to go off on your own. If you can handle seven other masters." Aster says to her.

Elizabeth makes a noise of slight panic.

Haseo looks at Elizabeth

"What is your problem?" Haseo asks her.

"I... You are asking a young maiden to go off with two strange men…"

Her voice doesn't have the same energy as before.

"And their servants. You'll also have Berserker."

Elizabeth makes another pathetic noise, and even Berserker seems to consider the idea.

"How about a sign of good faith?" Aster suggests to her.

"What would that be?" She gives Aster a cautious look.

"My servant will scout around first. She's no Assassin, but she's surprisingly stealthy."

Richard gives the Saint was a surprised look "Really? Ninja Nuns?" His eyes sparkle a little

"Awesome" Eris says

"Impressive" Haseo adds.

"Heh if they taught that in the church I would have gone more," Shu says. Eris nods.

"To add to it, we can also head to your residence. It would be the safest place for you, right?" Aster finishes.

"You... would surrender your servant, with no way of knowing I wouldn't take advantage…" Elizabeth pushes out. She gives a look of honest shock at that.

"For as long as we're allied," Aster says to her.

Elizabeth looks at Aster... and then sighs.

"Fine. But he!"

points at Haseo

"has to let me touch his servants tail!"

"Can I do dat too?" Eris adds.

Richard snickers and looks away.

Francois also coughs a little to hide a laugh.

Aster sighs

"Please, can I touch da tail?" Eris asks again as cutely as she can.

Shu begins to laugh at that.

Caster narrows her eyes at the two girls and gives them a smirk.

"Glad you all appreciate my features, but only my dearest husband is allowed to touch me."

Shu's laughter grows louder as she says this.

"Please! I'll buy you something!" Elizabeth looks on the verge of tears

"Awwww"Eris gives a pout when hearing the news.

Shu begins coughing from all the laughter.

"Can I take a pic with ya then?" Eris asks her. She only gives the teen another smirk before turning her attention to Archer.

"Besides you forget I'm not the only servant with animals features in here." Caster's smirk seems to grow to tease.

"Try, and I kill you." Archer threatens.

She doesn't even wait for a beat to let the two women imagine it.

Lancer tugs her hood further over her head.

"Can we get back on track. Do we have a deal, Master of Berserker?"

"... fine. But you need to buy Berserker candy tomorrow." She looks honestly sad at the loss of the fluffy tail.

"Then if we're done here?" Aster gets up from his seat.

"Alright, let's go" Shu gets up from his seat as well.

"awwww no pic."

She looks sad as she looks away.

"Me and Shu can meet at the Dango shop down the road tomorrow. Sound good?" Richard says to Shu.

"Sure love me some Dango anyway," Shu says to Richard.

"If we are done, let's meet up back here tomorrow night to report anything," Haseo says to the group.

"I'll meet with the Chibi at the bus stop near the park."

he snuffs out his cig as he says this.

Aster leaves money on the table to pay for everyone's drinks and the tip.

"I'm no chibi," Eris says to the man.

"Let's not so transparent on a destination next time," Aster says to Haseo.

"I know a place; I'll send you the details close to sundown." Richard brings up to the group.

With a silent order from Aster, Ruler then vanished. Instead of returning to spirit form, it's as if the Nun suddenly disappeared from existence. Like she was not there. Ruler begins to search around the cafe's exit.

"Ninja," Eris says looking at the previous spot where Ruler once was.

Archer, would you mind scouting the best vantage points?" Richard says to Archer.

The catgirl nods at the order and fades away.

Haseo looks at Caster and nods his head. She wordlessly goes into spirit form.

"Lancer go into astral form and help ruler check the outside for us," Shu says to Lancer.

Lancer nods before vanishing.

"Oh, and everyone, quick request before we go?" Richard says to the group.

He looks at the others.

"What is it?" Richard questions.

"Hmm?" Shu looks back at Richard.

"Group photo?" Richard asks the group.

He looks ashamed to ask but hopeful

"Weeb," Eris says to the man, but she gives the group a nod.

"Fine" Haseo says with a sigh.

"Sure." Shu nods.

"Child," Elizabeth says to the man but gets up to join the group anyway.

The ginger claps and heads to the counter and places a camera on it.

~With this act, the last night of peace before the war was completed. The Faction sponsored by the Clock Tower had assembled, and the first day of the war was set to begin~

* * *

**Characters created by**

**Shu created by Fulcano**

**Richard created by Roanes Steel**

**Elizabeth created by Drake Wilson**

**Eris created by Boot**

**Haseo created by Dark**

**Aster created by Shadow**

**Francois created by Roanes**


	2. Day One: Side Family

Day One: Side Family

It was shortly after morning; the park was slowly filling with people as one Francois Duhasse awaited his young charge on a bench, dutifully ignoring the annoyed looks the civilians were sending at seeing such a rough-looking man smoking alone this early in the morning

He breathes out a small plume of smoke as he awaits his teammate's arrival

"There ya are also good morning to ya" Eris called out to Francois while walking with Assassin, still wearing the same clothes and bag from last night.

Francois narrowed his eyes in suspicion realizing the secret she seemed to hide before appearing to decide it wasn't worth it.

"Sup Chibi, how was your night?" Francois asks her.

"I'm not a chibi and me, and Lil sis slept alright. Say morning Lil sis" Eris answers him. The teen says, getting Assassin to greet the man cheerfully.

"Good morning, Mister," Says to him with a wave of her hand.

Francois gives a small wave to Assassin, before bringing his voice to a whisper. "You are going to want to keep your 'little sis' hidden during the day Chibi. Not safe." He glanced around and sighed when he noticed that nobody was paying attention to them at the moment

"I know dat, but she asked to play at the park playground with me so I thought it be nice since it would make her happy," she says, then quietly adds "I also feel happy playing with her too, feels nice to have fun with someone else for once." her hair seemed to block her face as she refused to look Francois in the eye. She looked back up to the man after she spoke a smile on her face though it seemed slightly forced in comparison to the one she had before.

"It's just for a little bit, and I'm new at dis"

The older man runs a hand through his hair at that, and he seems like he is about to say something before he sighs.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for that Chibi, and we kinda have work to do," Francois said to them, they seemed to both wilt at that.

He still gives the Assassin a look, before sighing again.

"She can stay out though; she doesn't look that out of the ordinary."

"Yes," both said happily. Both girls smile at each other as well.

"Now, I will show you two something cool if you can make me a promise, okay?" The older man gives the two a grin that seemed to hide a surprise as he looks at the two before him.

Both girls look at each other and then at the older man and nod.

"Okay, go get a small twig and then I will have you make the promise, okay?" He takes his cig out at this and gives the two a small salute before lighting it.

"Lil sis you want to choose the twig?" The teen asked her.

Assassin nods and runs to the nearest tree across from the bench and starts looking for a twig she seems to take her time choosing, seemingly looking for the perfect one before settling on a rather large one.

"Okay chibis, since you completed this top-secret mission, I can have you make a promise on your very soul, right?" He looks both in the eye at this point, his face grave as he does so.

"Sure, we promise, cross our heart and hope to die promise," The girls say while crossing their hearts

"Don't start smoking." His eyebrow and mouth twitch, but other than that he keeps his serious face.

"Okay, we promise not to smoke," The girls say in unison while looking at him.

"Good girls, now hold the stick up and watch the tip. I'll show you a super-secret power, okay?" He rubs his hands as he grins, clearly pleased.

Both girls hold the stick together and stare at its tip.

Francois waggles the fingers of one hand at the stick before snapping them suddenly, and the tip of the rod now sporting a small flame. "Tada."

"...wooooooooooowwwwwww" Both girls say with stars in their eyes.

"Well, what do you think? Pretty cool, right?" The older man grins at this, clearly having fun although he was the one who said that they had work to do.

"You're like that fire man in those old mangas that big sis shows me" Assassin exclaims to him.

"Dat's so cool your like Momiji's Honoo from da needless manga I have."

She then goes into her bag and shows a page of a character using fire to the older man.

"Here look."

She looks at him with big eyes that almost seemed to shine, and her smile turned goofy as she seemed to imagine the man as this character when he was younger.

He takes the book with a small smile.

"I will later Chibi, but we do need to get moving. I think our job will be to find a good place for supplies and to get the lay of the land."

The man stands stretching his back, there were a few audible cracks as he did so.

"So let's go find out where some good snack shops are, eh?"

"Okay"

Both girls say with an excited tone.

With that, the team of three began to head off into the city, with the two girls leading the man and his invisible tag-along on a journey throughout the city.

"Not gonna lie, you seem... pretty aware of this city already Chibi..."

The old man's suspicious look comes back for a second as he addresses his 'partner.'

"Haha... um yeah, I've lived here for as long as I remember and before I met me Lil sis." the teen awkwardly admits while nervously scratching her head. She once again takes to avoid his gaze,

"Hmm... Okay..." He still holds his suspicions, but he decides not to push it.

"Anyway, let's continue our..." Francois stumbles, as an old man of Chinese descent, comes out of a shop and nearly runs into him.

"Oi?! you okay old man?!" She rounds on the older man who had just bumped into Francois.

"OI! WATCH WHERE YA GOING!"

"Calm down chibi; he's just an old man." Francois says as he ruffles Eris' hair as he turns towards the old man.

Eris makes a choked sound at this, and her face looked as if she had swallowed a lemon.

"Sorry about that sir, she's just... excitable." Francois continued to ruffle her hair

"I'm not a chibi!" she exclaims, her shoulders stiffened, and she seemed as if she were going to hiss.

The old man laughs at that "Ah, to be young." He leans on his cane as he takes in the trio.

"Such cute daughters..." He gives Francois a look

"Must have been the mother, eh?" His grin is pleasant and teasing. Francois rubbed the back of his head and made it seem like he was reminiscing

"Onee-chan, what's a chibi?" Assassin asked her.

Eris makes another choked sound, this time she did not hiss though she threw a look at the old man and Francois.

"Well you see, it's a term that means small and cute" The old man seemed to jump at the chance to rile up Eris.

"And It fits," the Francois adds.

"It does" both the old man and Francois nod as if they just explained the truth of the universe.

"GAH" She stared opened mouth at Francois and the old man her body growing tense again.

The two older men share a laugh at this.

"So Onee-chan is a chibi?" Assassin asks herself, Eris turns to the two men this time hissing at them.

"Teenagers, so easy to tease" The old man moves a hand to his mouth as he tries to stop his laughing.

"Wha! No, I'm not" Eris denies. Her body still tense, but she tried to force herself to relax.

"Hehe, yeah, she is. You are too, only smaller." Francois says as he grins at Assassin.

"Oh, so we're both chibis! Yay!" Assassin gives a small shout, she gives a little hop as she shouts.

Francois nods at Assassin's words.

"Well, it's been fun, but the clock stops for no one." The old man begins to hobble away.

"I might see you in the future. Have a pleasant day." He waves to the three while beginning to walk to his destination.

"Yup, now say goodbye to the nice man Chibis," Francois says to the two.

The old man stops and turns back to the group as he hears them.

"Bye-bye jii-chan/yeah bye old man" Assassin is cheerful while Eris grumbles a bit after her.

"Haha, so polite. I should have my granddaughter meet you at some point. Have a wonderful day. You sure made mine better."

And with that, the man fades away into the hustle and bustle of the city, the group quickly losing track of him.

"What an odd man..." Francois smiles as he puts his cig out in a nearby ashtray before turning away

"Whhhhhhy" Eris whines, her face turning to pout as she acts just a bit younger than she was.

"Alright Chibi, to make up for the teasing, lead the way to an Ice Cream place. I'll buy your forgiveness with sweets." He gives the teen a grin at this.

"... Only if you get both lil sis and me a triple scoop" Eris says as serious as possible, her face showed otherwise as you could see the excitement in her eyes.

Francois sighed, "Of course. But after that, we need to get back to work, kay?"

"Sure but I kinda wonder… Nah" She shook her head, she had turned back to where the old man was last seen, but seemed to drop the idea.

"I know da best place dat sells cheap but really good ice cream close by, follow me."

With that, the two made their way to a small Ice Cream Parlor to enjoy some refreshing frozen treats, with the two teens getting their triple scoops while the man gets a single scoop of butter pecan.

As they sit in the parlor, the tv in the corner of the store plays the news.

"... And nobody knows how many bodies there are still unfound, but at least 12 different confirmed bodies, thought the sheer number of parts suggest at least 20 more."

The newswoman seems to struggle to keep a straight face as she announces the body count.

"The police have... have also confirmed that the bodies were from men, women, children, and even the elderly..."

She looks visibly shaken at this.

"This... this is one of the worst..." For a minute, a glimpse of the bodies was shown on the screen, there were body parts that were ripped apart; some seemed clawed, and some seemed to have teeth marks. The image disturbed the customers in the store, some of them seemed to rush out of the store to puke.

The shopkeeper turns the news off at this point, his face pale and his hands shaking.

Francois licks at his cone, looking for all the world like he wasn't affected by what he just heard.

Both Eris and Assassin moaned happily while eating their ice creams not caring at all, but they do shake a little when they hear that children were killed in the slaughter.

"... Someone fucked up." Francois says as he stopped licking his ice cream.

"Huh?" Eris questions, she turned her head to Francois. She seemed honestly confused as to why he would say that.

"You don't get that kind of mess with a simple mass murder, Chibi." He begins to chew a pecan as he finishes the statement

"Oh," she says. She took a second to parse that thought, before realizing what he had called her. "And I'm not a chibi."

"Someone on _their_ side did something Chibi. At least, I hope it was _their_ side..." The man takes a bite out of his cone.

"Oh…" She turned back to the cone.

"Ooooh. So dis is either a good thing or a bad thing for us, right?" She asks while sounding a bit concerned

"Both Chibi. Both." He digs into his ice cream again.

"Scrap," she says.

"Scrap indeed. We need to be careful of the police tonight Chibi; otherwise, we'll need to... _uphold the secret_, as it were." Francois says his eyes turned cold.

"Got it," She says unperturbed.

There is a little tune from Francois' coat, making him stop his bite and sigh as he fishes out his phone. The man sighed as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Two hours until Twilight, Chibi."

"Twilight?" she asks.

"Sundown," he answers.

"Oh okay, also I'm not a chibi" she bites back after her answer.

"When you are taller than me, I'll stop," he says to her.

"Ugh" Eris's head drops to the table.

"Heh, anyway, finish up. We can finish scouting this area and make our way to the meeting point. Sound like a plan?" he asks her.

"Sure. Ready Lil sis?" She asked Assassin, who had just joined her 'big sis' in eating the last bit of her ice cream

"Ready onee-chan" Assassin says as she finishes off the ice cream.

"Alright you two, time to finish our job. Then we can get back to the safety of numbers." He quickly gathered the trash from the table and began heading towards the door.

"Right" The girls clean up as well and follow Francois.

~And with that, Team Family finished scouting the area of the shopping streets. They didn't learn much from this trip, but they did learn one big thing. There was a Massacre in this city recently. All in all, it could have been a worse day spent~


	3. Day One: Side Gaijin

**Author's Note**

**Review**

**ZenoZen: I'm sure in a few chapters you'll find some more people that you will find suspicious or just piss you off. **

* * *

Fate False/Twilight Day one

Side: Gaijin

The Dango shop was surprisingly full for how early the pair meet there, and even though they knew to meet here... like the others of their group, they didn't have much of a plan besides meeting up. Still, with that, Richard and Shu had enough to at least have a step one…

"Ah, nothing better than some Dango and tea in the morning."

"I do love sweets, and these are pretty good..."

Richard had paid for a good number for the pair to enjoy after their meeting. The plates on either side of them were beginning to pile a bit high.

"You think carrying these around would be a bad idea?" Richard asked Shu as he dug into another stick of Dango.

"This is only the beginning lad, the world of Dango is large and vast," Shu said to Richard as he spread out his arms as if he was preaching to the man about the teachings of a god. Shu stuck another stick in his mouth eating all three at once, as he swallowed he turned back to Richard. "as to carrying them around probably."

He paused for a second and took a sip of his tea. "For all, we know there's some servant that could smell the sweets before we even get near."

Richard seemed to take in what he said before looking at the pile of Dango remaining. "... I might have bought too many then..."

He looks sadly at the plate of Dango.

"Best enjoy what you can for now then," Shu said as he took another stick of Dango off the plate.

"Good plan," Richard said with a nod, his hand picking up three of the sticks. As he finished the first one, he turned back to Shu. "So... do we know where a stupid foreigner would go on a vacation in Japan?"

"Hmm, well first place would be the modern section of the city for anime stuff. But since I doubt we'd get much info there either the Historical section or the Religious section" Shu said as he picked up another set of Dango.

As Shu began eating the Dango, Richard's gaze drifted towards the door, his eyes focused on the Buddha statue that was situated above the door.

"I think we know the answer," He said he said as he slowly grew more serious.

Following his gaze, Shu stared at the Buddha statue, "Religious huh," He took another bite of Dango while nodding. "I suppose that means the church is backing the other group."

Richard nodded.

"If we can get a good scope of their territory now..." he grabbed another stick of Dango. "We won't have to do it later."

"Good point, we'll have to hit the temples first to make it seem normal before we look for the church proper," Shu said as he finished another stick of Dango. He was starting to feel a bit full at this point, and it seemed like the boxes of Dango weren't going down.

"Oh, and... uh... yes..." He coughs a little as he remembers he didn't answer the question about the church. "Is this a plan? Do we have a plan now?" He asks looking to Shu for confirmation.

"Yup, best start walking now. Don't want to feel full in case we run into the competition" Shu said as he finished off his tea.

"Good point," Richard finishes his tea as well before he gets up and puts down a tip for the waiter. He then begins his treck out, stopping once to look at the pile of Dango that was left behind before forcing himself out.

Shu also drops a tip for the waiter, before joining Richard on the way out to through the door.

The two then made their way to the Religious district, the main base of the church faction. They would visit different temples and church sites for signs of magic. It was at one particular shrine that Shu was familiar with that the two had an interesting encounter.

A woman, one Shu didn't recognize in a shrine maiden's outfit seemed to be going from group to group pushing talismans on the tourist there. His attempts to have them both avoid her failed when she focused straight on Richard the moment she was done with one last group.

"Hello there, can I interest you in a charm?"

The shrine maiden was... obnoxiously happy as she greeted the two visitors. One look at her eyes, you would notice how fake the smile was, but everything else about her seemed genuine.

"Hmm, no thanks just got one last week," Shu said to her attempting to get her to lose interest in them.

"Oh? Only one? And last week, seems a bit long to me?" She shrugs, her black hair drifting about with the movement

"What about you?" She turns to Richard, her eyes fluttering as she tried to turn up the charm.

"Uh... um... Maybe?" He gives Shu a look and gets a tiny shake of the head in response. He turned back to the woman giving a reluctant shake of his head.

"Aw... So stingy..." She pouts at this... her eyes tearing up as she tries to sell it. This woman was trying her hardest to tug heartstrings.

"Urk" Richard was already reaching into his coat; he seemed unable to turn away from her eyes as fake tears seemed to well up in them.

Shu pulls him away, realizing he's about to get suckered. As he does so, he turns back to the woman giving her a short apologetic bow.

"Haha don't worry it's his first day here and I'll bring him back once he's seen some more of the place" As Shu turned away he didn't notice the woman's eyes turn into a hateful glare as she stared at the two.

Once the two were far enough from the woman, Richard stopped them. "She looked so sad! How did you resist? Teach me your ways..."

He clasped his hands before him with his statement.

Shu only response was to raise an eyebrow before he turned back to the shrine, he could see the shrine maiden messing with another group. "That woman, I don't recognize her."

That seemed to get Richard's attention back on the woman.

"Ha?" he questioned.

"The lady in charge of this place is an older woman, and she doesn't push the charms on people" Shu seemed to narrow his eyes as he watched her move to another group.

"So... she was a con artist at best?" Richard asked.

"Yup," Shu said with a nod.

"... I think I found the first thing about Japan I don't like..." Richard said with a sneer towards the woman as she seemingly took a moment to count the yen she had made off several tourists.

"You'll find people like that regardless of the country trust me," Shu said to the man his hand on Richard's shoulder as a precaution.

"I know, doesn't make it better though..." Richard turned back to the steps of the shrine and began walking away from it.

With their trip to the Temple finished, the duo began to explore the area in earnest, marking off all the locations of churches and all the places that could make good defensive positions when something... unexpected happened.

A man in a black jacket with a hood and a surgery mask bumped into Shu before making a show of falling over.

"Argh, my arm!" The man grabbed his arm as if he had broken it. Around them, a group of people began to stop and stare at the three men.

"Woah there, I know I'm bulky but not that bulky" as Shu said this he could see men dressed similarly in the crowd of people. Near him, Richard seemed to have slipped his hand into his pocket.

The man continued to clutch his arm before screaming in pain. The screams seemed to have sent the crowd running off.

"Can't tell if you're a shitty actor or trying to kill us?" Shu said with a sigh, his finger digging in his ear as he continued to watch the man fake pain in front of him.

"Oi, you hurt my buddy..." Another Identical man seems to appear from nowhere, a cloth wrapped object resting against his shoulder as he crouches near his friend.

"Yup trying to kill us," Shu said he was staring at his pinky finger barely paying any attention to the men.

"This setup was rather poor..." Richard's face slips into a grin that promised pain as he slips his hand from his pocket.

Two more similar men appear, making it just the six on the street at this point.

"Alright lads you've come to Shu's butt-kicking lesson," Shu says as he makes tiny hops in place.

"Lesson one, numbers don't help instead they only make it harder to fight" Shu then proceeded to grab the man laying on the ground by the legs and throws him at the man in front to knocking them both to the ground.

"You cocky son of a bitch!" A thug from behind rushes Shu with a pair of brass knuckles and attempts to land a punch on his back. The hit lands square on Shu's left shoulder, but barely does anything.

"Was that supposed to do something laddie my grandma could hit me harder" Shu said to the man with a laugh, in the corner of his eye he noticed Richard rushing the man, so he kept his attention on the rest.

"You need to learn..." Richard steps in and throws a haymaker at the Brass Knuckle Thug's head "To make better choices!" The thug staggers back from the hit, clutching his head where he was struck.

"Bastards!" The unarmed thug that was behind Richard rushes him, attempting to strike Richard with a running blow. The blow lands, barely causing Richard to flinch from it.

In front of them, the two men that were floored by Shu's opener had begun to recover, though it seemed as if the first man had actually hurt his arm from the throw as he was now really clutching it in pain.

Shu ignored that man and went for the one holding the cloth-covered weapon his fist whipped forward, striking the man in the throat. The thug backed away from Shu as much as he could, he was clutching his throat and seemed like he could barely breathe from the blow. He stared at Shu with nothing but fear in his eyes. Shu gave him a jovial smile.

"Rule 2, if you're afraid, then run. Better to live another day," Shu said, the smile still on his face. Behind him, the thug with the brass knuckles rounded on him in anger.

"You fuck, shut your mouth!" The thug attempted to take a swing at Shu, but it seemed that his injury from Richard had messed with his depth perception as the swing went wide and he began to tumble. Shu took that chance to grab the man's head and kneed him in the nose.

"A swing and a miss, how unfortunate," Shu said as the man wobbled for a bit before he fell to the ground unconscious.

While this was happening, Richard swung on the man who had punched him and punched the man in the gut, the man was staggered by the blow but was able to ignore it otherwise. The other thug in front of Richard throws a punch on him which lands. Richard gives a grunt but otherwise seems to ignore the hit.

The first man that started this seemed to have gotten over his injury and rushed Shu in an attempt to knock him to the ground, it barely fazes the man. "Looks like you've got your hands full there, let me deal with this leech first." Shu turned his attention back to the man currently trying to push him to the ground.

Ahead the man who had the cloth wrapped weapon seemed to recover from the earlier punch and was staring at Shu once again his eyes filled with fear, he looked to his comrade who could barely push back the man, then back to the man himself. "Fuck this." He yelled before dropping his weapon and running away from the fight.

"See that lad right there, he's the smart one" Shu grabs the man who was grabbing him, despite the man trying to hold on he overpowers him anyway and holds him aloft in the air. "Here's what happens to the dumb ones," he says before headbutting him in the nose.

"Modderfupper!" The man staggers away, clutching his nose.

"Haha you kiss your mother with that mouth," Shu says to him, his smile never leaving his face.

Meanwhile, Richard was grappling with the thug that hit him last and seemed to struggle before getting a solid grab on the man's shirt. He whistles to Shu.

"Look what I caught!" Richard yells at Shu, the man in Richard's grip tried to pry open his grip but seemingly couldn't which frustrated him given their size difference.

"Looks like a big one," Shu says before rushing over and socking the man in the jaw. As Shu does so, Richard releases his hold on him and slams both his fist into the man's chest. The man goes down instantly, he was out cold before he even hit the sidewalk.

"And then there was one," Shu says as he turns back to the man who was still clutching his nose. The man seemed to be trembling at the sight of them.

"Boo," Richard said as mockingly as possible, the man went ramrod straight before running as fast as possible away from the two.

The two men seemed to look around at the unconscious bodies of the thugs while wiping off any of the dirt that got on their clothes. Shu was the first to speak up.

"Hmm, think I'll check these guys real quick in case they have any connection to our little friends here."

"Good plan. I'll see what that guy tried to menace us with..." He unwraps the cloth, revealing a wooden baseball bat that he waves at Shu to show him.

"Really? Made all that fuss for nothing..." Shu says with a sigh as he digs through the pockets of the thugs.

"I mean... we can probably keep this?" He hefts the bat in the air, seemingly testing its weight. Shu meanwhile seemed to have stopped digging and was staring at something he found in one of the thug's pockets. Shu shows it to Richard who had stopped lifting the bat and had gone over to Shu to see what he found.

It was a card with a snake symbol etched into it. "Must be the symbol of their gang," Shu said as he examined the card further for any other marks.

Richard shrugged. "Might be useful to look into? Hell, it might keep us out of trouble with them."

"Probably," Shu said as he pocketed the card.

"So... you want this stick?" He points the bat at Shu, handle first

"Sure why not, I'll name em ol' slugger," Shu said as he took the baseball bat, he grabbed some of the wrappings as well and began making a sling to carry it.

"Ha!" Richard gives a short laugh before he rolls his shoulders as he looks around at the unconscious group.

"... should we... leave?" Richard asks as he looks around in case someone else decided to join in.

"Probably if we stick around the cops could come, or our little friends could notice us here" Shu began walking away from the site, Richard joining him.

Richard stopped for a second and turned back to the group in a mocking tone. "Alright then, goodbye 'Tunnel Snakes' thanks for our meal!"

The duo begin to walk off, Richard continued taunting the unconscious men as they do

After that, they wisely chose to leave the scene of the recent beatdown, taking their spoils with them.

Not long after, they made their way through the area once more, marking off more good places to ambush before going to rest in a small alley. There they came across something... odd.

"Hey, Shu... what is that thing?" He points to a slight glistening in the air, and it didn't take a genius to know that it wasn't natural

"Hmm," Shu turned to where he was pointing.

The wall in the alley, nearly invisible except for the slight glimmer of the light, showed a strange... something there.

"Should...should we investigate?" Richard asks as he turns to Shu in case it was something he recognized.

"Hmm, this is something that I don't think was ever here..." he said as he looked at the shimmering light.

"... Yay?" Richard says with confusion and apprehension.

"It might be related to them," Shu says with narrowed eyes, his senses focused on trying to get a read for what it is. With his focus on the light, he didn't notice Richard walk past him towards it.

"Now we HAVE to check it out!" Richard said with a sigh and a throw of his hands. He continued to walk towards the light uncaring of whether or not it was a trap. Shu seemed to snap out of his concentration as he noticed Richard getting uncomfortably close to the light, it almost seemed to glow brighter as he did.

"Ugh, Stop!" Shu yelled out to Richard. The man stopped slightly before the light and turned back around to Shu. "I was going to mark this spot on the map if that's an entrance to one of their hideouts we'd be at a disadvantage." Richard seemed to think about it then nodded, he turned back to the light which had lessened in brightness, and he seemed shocked by what he found.

"Uh...I think you should come here though" Richard's voice came out haltingly as if he was trying to understand what he was seeing.

"Ok" Shu approached the light his magic senses turned to the max as he began to feel what the purpose of the light was. Once he fully approached, he saw the light change to a full runic circle. "Oh great" He gave a huge sigh. Taking out his phone, he took multiple pictures of the circle, his senses still open as he focused on each section he took a picture of.

The circle sported large Russian symbols, with the three prominent runes roughly able to translate to something similar to Shu's Nordic Runes smaller runes marking the space between them

Now at the entrance to the alley, away from the rune circle and the public beyond, Richard awaits Shu's thoughts on what the fuck that was. Shu takes back out his phone and begins going through each section.

"Let's see here, the three large runic designs can be translated to Ansuz, Dagaz, and Othila," Shu said as he began attempting to translate the circle.

"... gonna nod and pretend to get it." Richard said with confusion filling his voice. Shu seemed to have not noticed as he continued.

"At least based on the energy they gave off" Shu seemed to stroke his chin as he looked them over, likely double checking if he was correct.

"... So... your translating based off energy and a picture of the circle?" Richard said as he looked at the phone. Shu nodded and continued.

"Yes, most runes can give off different magic signatures and can be translated to different runic languages based on the energy they give off" Shu's voice seemed to have changed to one you would hear in a lecture.

"... Runes sound awesome... Continue"

"The runic signature mainly seems to be a communication rune of some kind, it has points to breakthrough magical interference at long ranges and a point to cut the connection at any time," he said this as he turned back to the original image, pointing out the three large points in the circle.

"So... think you can translate the tinier ones?"

"Those will be a bit harder, as they're mostly used in specific functions, like if you were creating a program."

"Like... building a website or something?" Richard's head tilted as he tried to understand what he meant.

"Something like that, say if the person on the website clicked a link the if function would activate and take them to another function like a different webpage or a specific section on the site" He paused for a bit and turned back to the circle. "I suppose I should work on the Dagaz and Othila like runes if we can translate that we can use the data to find who the rune is communicating with."

Five minutes later.

"Hmm, these smaller ones around them seem to be the Mannaz and Perth runes, likely ensuring any data collected would be hidden from whoever tried to access the runic circle outside its creator" Shu's finger pointed to the two spots on the picture.

"... This screams suspicious."

"The next bit between Ansuz and Dagaz is interesting, I found runes similar to Algiz and Fehu. Likely put there to strengthen the connection and marking the area as belonging to the owner of the runic circle" Shu's finger points to the next spot on the circle as he speaks. Richard seems to slowly understand what he means.

"Like... using Ethernet instead of wifi?" Richard asks for a bit of clarification.

"Something like that" Shu chuckles a bit at the comparison. "The last bit of connection would be the with the Ansuz and Othila runes, seems it does something similar and ensures the information that is collected is protected" Shu pauses as his face changes to a grimace. "Still to use two protection runes, troublesome that sort of thing would ensure it would take a long time to reroute the connection or break the circle" His right hand began to glow blue, his face set and eyes resolved to continue. "Too into this now and I'd be a failure of a runemaster if I didn't try to take this challenge." A smile grew on his face as if he would relish this challenge.

Shu stood back in front of the circle his hands moving in motions that Richard could barely track, he saw the light from the circle continuously flicker. The faster Shu moved, the more it seemed to do so. Shu finally stopped with a yell. "Aha, gotcha ya smug bastard" The grin on Shu's face seemed to have grown wider from his accomplishment before he let out a breath.

"Whoo, damn shit almost backfired on me" he gave a sigh. "If I spent any longer trying to access the bloody thing the rune would have caught a bit of my magic which would make me easy to track."

"That sounds... bad..." He cautiously approached his partner. "So... did you get anything?"

"Yeah, not much but we do know this was being used by our new friends."

"Really?" Richard gives him an amazed look, though it changed to expectant when he saw Shu had more to say.

"Yup, First they've only set this up within the last 2 days" Shu was about to continue, but Richard interrupted.

"Servant or Master? And can we ambush the fucker?"

"Hold on let me finish" Shu gives a classic 'interrupted teacher' look to Richard.

"Sorry" The ginger is sufficiently cowed by it.

"Second whoever made these have at least A- rank in mana" Shu begins to pace. "So unless we're looking at the bluest of blue blood magi it's likely a servant." He looks over at Richard, clearly pleased "Next I was able to locate 4 more of these circles in this area" Richard gives a nod. "And finally I only got a whiff of the magical signature, it's enough to tell me that the person in question either stays here or over in the historical section."

"God damn... are you some kind of magic hacking god?" His raised an eyebrow and gave a low whistle, as that was all he can really provide to amplify his incredulity

"Main reason this one was hard was that the person was alive so their magic would fight it, I've seen harder sets than this one in my travels" He turned back to the circle. "I want to leave a runic circle on this opposite wall for when the owner comes back, it will copy their signature so we can track them." Shu grimaces. "The only issue is if this was really made by caster."

"That sounds... risky..." He puts his chin in his hand as he tries to think of a Caster.

"Aye, you're right" Shu glances at his now completed 'camera' rune. "Hmm, what to do."

"If they are anything like Haseo's Kitsu, we should be good though," Richard said with a nod, Shu agreed with him.

"Let's leave it, I have the locations of the other circles down already, we can take this to the group and work out an ambush."

"Got it. I'll send the others the location of a place I know. It's an old, back street restaurant." He takes out his phone and begins to text Francois and Aster

"Word from the wise, avoid the duck," Richard says as he finishes his text.

"Heh, duck around here is diseased to hell so of course, I wouldn't eat it" Shu's mind went to the image of the last person who ate the duck before he shook his head.

And with that, the duo made their way to a relatively out of the Religious Section and to a small, out of the way restaurant called "The Carp's Waterfall". After the walk, Richard only had one thing to say as the place came in to view.

"Remember, no Duck."

~Team Gaijin, after a relatively uneventful start, managed to stumble across two points of interest. On the one hand, they learned of a gang of thugs that could pose an issue to their day time exploration of the city. On the other, Shu had managed to 'hack' into a Runic Circle likely placed by the enemy faction, allowing him to have a way to spy on them so long as it was still in use. All in all, they had a major advantage now.~


End file.
